My name is Neale Bacon. I have lost (so far) 200 pounds with no pills, potions, shakes, short cuts or surgery. Join me for tips and tricks I learned on this journey. There may even be a laugh or two along the way.

My last post was about the Wellness Show, and recently we had another similar show. This was called the Healthy Family Expo because the focus was on – wait for it – families! It had a wide variety of things of interest to young families, but I will focus on the things I found that relate to weight loss or at least healthy eating and living. I am not exactly an expert of baby clothes or maternity outfits. I will say there was lots of companies with healthy baby foods but I didn’t spend time at those booths.

The first thing I sought out when I got there were my friends Robyn Hardy and Lorraine Pond aka Bobs and Lolo. Why would I seek out kids performers? Well first of all they are friends of mine. We have performed at some of the same events (don’t forget wearing my other hat I am a family ventriloquist). You may wonder why am I mentioning them here. Well I tell people that you need to find exercise where you can, even if that is dancing with your kids and grandkids. If you want some really fun and upbeat kid’s music that won’t make you want to scream after 5 minutes, let me recommend Bobs and Lolo. Not only is their music lively and upbeat, but it encourages physical activity, friendships, outdoor stuff and much more. Have a peek! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1O_rIzwi-g Put your dancing shoes on and have fun!

So what did I find for my healthy eating plan. Wow where do I start? I was excited to be granted media priviledges to cover the event and was given a huge swag bag as I was leaving. One product that was in there was something I tried when I was going around. It is a unique milk substitute. It is called Veggemo. It comes in 3 flavours – original, unsweetened and vanilla. What makes it unique is the ingredients. It is made from peas, tapioca and potatoes. Oh and it is delicious. My first thought is that this would be great to use when making a cream soup instead of using cream. It can be used plain as a beverage, in baking, or even in your coffee. Their website is http://www.veggemo.com

I am not a big fan of veggie burgers as I have had too many that tasted like compressed lawn clippings. I found one at the show that totally changed my mind. It is called Veggie Grounds and is made by a company called Big Mountain Foods. They were serving it on pizza samples and it was really amazing. These products are a good way to get some vegetables in your diet. I know for me it is one thing I always come up short on. I took a
chance and actually bought a package of their veggie burgers to try at home, and again, amazing. They were flavourful. I won’t say they would totally replace my hamburgers, but it’s a good alernative from time to time. They are fully cooked so you really just heat them up. We did ours in a frying pan, but I bet they would be great on a bar bq too.

I also have found I need to add more fish to my diet. I love fish but I often overlook it in my diet or get bored with the same old canned salmon or tuna. I found a company that not only produced a delicious canned salmon and tuna, but is a company that is using a high stand of sustainability in their fishing practices. They are also a BC company which is extra cool for me. The two products I tried were their smoked salmon and smoked tuna. Yes they come in a can and they were to die for. My dad used to smoke salmon and it brought back those memories. Check out http://www.raincoasttrading.com

Do you have a sweet tooth? I have a weakness for gummi bears. I found a company called Smart Sweets that sell gummi bear that are practically sugarless. I say practically because there is only 2 grams of sugar in a bag and includes 24 grams of fibre. According to their promotional material, this is the equivalent as 6 servings of vegetables. They are also GMO and gluten free. Oh and for those with a sour tooth, they make sour gummies too. Find them at http://www.smartsweets.com

As I mentioned there was an emphasis on healthy families and there was a lot of products for
kids lunches. I found on that was really tasty and it was dairy, peanut, egg, wheat, gluten, tree nut,sesame,shellfish and sulphite free. They are called Freeyumm. They come as little snack bars and cookies that come in a number of flavours. My personal favourite was the raspberry, but there is also Honey Apple, Chocolate Chip, Double Chocolate, Honey Hemp, Blueberry, Giner, and Banana Maple. Forget the kids. These would be great to take to the office to avoid the vending machine temptation. You can find them at http://www.freeyumm.com

I am a big advocate of multi-grain breads and I found another local company making some delicious whole grain breads. The company is One Degree Organic Foods. They also make some really yummy cereals. What impressed me the most is that there are 6 ingredients in their bread, and one of those is water. I also recognized the other ingredients. My rule for a while has been if I can’t pronounce it, I don’t eat it. Not an issue with these breads!

I should mention that Whole Foods was a major sponsor of the Expo, and all of these products can be found at your local Whole Foods. You don’t have to buy them online. I am the first to admit that some of Whole Foods products can be more expensive than those in your regular supermarket but as I ask people frequently – what is your health worth.

So there you have it. Just a few of the amazing things I found at the expo. It was an outstanding show, and I could see from the looks on people’s faces (much like I did at the Wellness Show) that people were really learning some new stuff that would improve their lives.

Check your local paper or online and look for these types of fairs or expos in your town. They are well worth attending. You will learn a lot, get to try a lot of new products that you may have only heard about. There are often freebies and special sales. If nothing else, you get the exercise from walking around and carrying all your new healthy purchases!